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OKAMOTO
INTERNATIONAL
AFFAIRS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
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- - Asia in the World, and Japan in Asia
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Last
revised and updated on June 29, 2009
--
click the emblem above for the Japanese version --
We at Okamoto International Affairs
Research Isntitute work in partnership with FoE Japan in launching the
PARAP project in East Asia offering
the vital tools with which to deal with the risk of the accelerating earth
warming and the widening gap between the dwellers of the big cities and
the rural communities. Contact us at
SECRETARIAT
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OUR PARAP SITE FOR VIDEO CLIP EXCHANGE
AND ASSISTANCE IS FINALLY UP AND RUNNING
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OUR SUPPORT OF THE PAN-ASIAN
CRESCENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM
We are determined to support the projects locally initiated by small
groups of individuals in the rural communities of Asia in collaboration with
their counterparts in the urban centers of the world.
[1] The PARAP international exchange program
is finally being launched as of the first day of June, 2009 with the establishment
of aq new corporation to be named "Eurasia, Inc." for the entire Pacific
Rim region. The following communities are invited to take part in the years
to come, the BRIC countries first, and then the rest around the Pacific
Rim. We will begin with a pipe water purification project for major urban
centers, but will soon work with the rural communities which share and
suffer from the same problem of waster pollution. The English and the Japanese
versions will come first, but we plan on adding the Russian and Chinese
versions during 2009.
Rural Community in Alaska
The selection of the community will be made within the next few
months
Rural
Community in the Russian Far East
The Bikin river, an tributary of the Great Amoure
which runｓ north across the Maritime Province of the Russian Far East is
known to be the home of the Siberian tigers and the Udehe people who continue
to live in harmony with the pristine Siberian natural environment.
The riverside village of
Krasny Yar is now making preparations to participate
in PARAP's environmental and cultural exchange project. The Udehe people
are the descendants of the Jurchen and the Manchu peoples and thus share
the same northern ancestral stock with us Japanese.
The PARAP project, once completed, promises to be a rural community
development model of the 21st century absolutely and totally friendly to
the environment.
Rural Community in Mongolia
The selection of the community will be made within
the next few months
Rural Community in Korea
The selection of the community will be made within the next few
months
Rural villages being selected in China for a full-green project
While the model of the pilot project in the
Russian Far East will be applicable to the north and northeastern regions
of China, the rest of this vast country lies in a much milder climate zone,
where a different model willl be needed to meet the regions' basic need,
where most exported fish and crabs are grown by fish farms with a variety
of chemicals in use. See 
this site for more
information. We are discussing with our Chinese partners how we can together
produce a Chinese model best suited for the warm climate regions on both
sides of the great Yangtze River.
Rural Community in Nepal
The selection of the community
will be made within the next few months
Rural Community in India
The selection of the community
will be made within the next few months
Rural Community in Japan
The selection of the community
will be made within the next few months
Rural Community in the U.S.
The selection of the community
will be made within the next few months
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LET US MAKE THE YEAR 2009 THE
1ST YEAR OF EAST ASIA'S
REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP ERA
January 10, 2009
Yutaka
Okamoto
OKAMOTO INTERNATIONAL
AFFAIRS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
I have intimately observed the life of the American people during my
stay there for more than a quarter of a century starting from the early days
of the Kennedy Administration all the way through the Nixon and Reagan years.
And since then observing America from Japan. And as a result, I am today
of the opinion that America is approaching the thresholds of an entirely
new era never experienced since the Great Depression and the New Deal years
of the early 1930s, a drastic change that occurs once in a century.
The primary cause is the process of the economic globalization which
allowed the American capitalism to leap profit without fetters from empty
"financial engineering" games. Who has been in charge? No body. And that's
what caused this catastrophe. But, the result of the last Presidential primary
brought to the surprise of the rest of the world a Democratic Obama Administration.
It is my strong personal feeling, however, that this is a just another
manifestation that the people of the United States continue to demonstrate
their capability to learn from mistakes and reinstate the values of their
version of democracy and freedom which are the central historical heritage
of the nation.
Respect for democracy and love of freedom have always been alive within
each American family and community life. It was not because these values
are "guaranteed by the Constitution" as we think we are in Japan. In America,
the people's own instinctive personal sense of commitment to democracy and
freedom is what upholds their Constitution.
Thus, at the beginning of 2009, I see a major change over the horizon
of our planet. The United States is now poised to work with the EU countries
along with such emerging giants like Russia, China, India and Brazil to
form a new world order to meets the radically different need of the 21st
century including the vast investment in non-fossil energy infrastructure
leading the world to stem the tide of global warming.
END
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